Q.What is meant by the term ‘financial risk’?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Financial risk refers to the possibility that a firm may not be able to meet its fixed financial commitments — mainly interest payments and repayment of debt — because it has financed itself partly through borrowed funds (debt), which carry a fixed obligation regardless of how the business actually performs.
Whenever a company raises funds through debt (loans, debentures), it takes on an obligation to pay a fixed rate of interest, and eventually to repay the principal, no matter how much profit the firm earns in a given year. If profits are high, using debt (financial leverage) can boost the return to equity shareholders — but if profits fall or the firm faces a bad year, that same fixed interest obligation still has to be paid, which can strain the firm's cash flows, force it to sell assets, or in a severe case lead to default or even insolvency. This uncertainty — of not being sure whether the firm will be able to comfortably meet its fixed interest/debt obligations every year — is what is meant by financial risk, and it is one of the key factors a firm mu …
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